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Just posted at Rolling Stone, new interview with Blondie Chaplin:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ex-beach-boy-blondie-chaplin-reunites-with-brian-wilson-after-40-years-20131014 (http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ex-beach-boy-blondie-chaplin-reunites-with-brian-wilson-after-40-years-20131014)

Transcript:

By Andy Greene
October 14, 2013 2:00 PM ET

Blondie Chaplin is truly the Zelig of rock & roll. The South African-born musician first made his mark when the Beach Boys hired him in 1972 as a full member of the group. He sang lead on their classic "Sail On Sailor" and contributed substantially to their woefully underrated albums Holland and Carl & The Passions - So Tough before leaving in late 1973. He went on to record artists ranging from Bonnie Raitt and David Johansen to Gene Clark and the Band. The Rolling Stones brought him into their backing band in 1997 and he remained there for a solid decade, playing just about every arena and stadium on the planet. 

He's now playing select dates on the ongoing Brian Wilson-Jeff Beck tour, and he's working with a new band called Skollie with Anton Fig and Keith Lentin. We spoke with Chaplin about his tenure in the Beach Boys, why he wasn't invited on the last Stones tour and his reunion with Wilson.

Let's start by going back to the beginning here. Tell me how you first met up with the Beach Boys.

Wow. It must have been 1968. They were doing a tour in England and they were looking for acts to sign to Brother Records. My band from South Africa was called the Flame and we were playing around. I think that Al Jardine came to see us, and within a little while he called Carl [Wilson], and that's how the connection happened. They listened to us and liked it, so they brought us over to the States. That's how it started.

Were you a big Beach Boys fan prior to that?

Not particularly. [Laughs] I appreciated some of the stuff. Obviously, they had good head stuff like "Good Vibrations," all the artistic stuff. We were coming from a background of R&B – Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and that kind of thing. In South Africa, we were influenced by the Beatles, Stones, whatever. But after I got to know the Beach Boys I got into them a whole lot more.

You weren't a hired hand. They made you a full-time Beach Boy, right?

Well, you know, that's what it was called. It said "Beach Boys," but [drummer] Ricky Fataar and I didn't feel like we were fully there. It was full Beach Boys as far as title, but it wasn't really. I'm not saying that in a negative way. We were just very, very good session men that people happened to like. I guess you can call us Beach Boys, but we thought we were kind of brought in to give the band a harder and funkier edge, so I'll just put it that way. If that means being a Beach Boy, fine.

It was a weird time in the group's history. They were just 11 years old as a band, but they already seemed pretty passé to most people.

Yeah. We were doing a lot of college dates. When I watch college basketball now, I say to my wife, "We played there with the Beach Boys." We played a lot of shows, sometimes six weeks straight – go back for a bit, and then get back out there. That's how we built it up to the point of playing nice, prestigious venues. The band was rocking much harder than it had in the beginning. Ricky and I had a lot to do with kicking that into gear. Before we joined, they just weren't great to see live. We gave them a little more oomph.

How often did you see Brian Wilson in this period?

Just maybe in the studio. He wasn't playing much live at all. In the studio, when we cut Holland, he was involved. And he was there at his house when we did some of the Carl and the Passions stuff.

Tell me how you wound up singing lead on "Sail On Sailor."

We did the Holland album in Holland, obviously. When they brought the stuff back to Warners, they didn't think there was anything to play on the radio, like a single or anything like that. So we recorded "Sail On Sailor" in America and added it to the album. It became the song that Warners could latch onto and put on the radio, though it never became a heavy-selling hit. It was kind of a radio hit. 
When we recorded it, Carl was on the piano. I played bass and Ricky Fataar was on drums. We did it at Village Recorders. When the track was done, Carl asked Dennis [Wilson] to take a crack at singing. He tried it a couple of times and then said, "Hey, man, the surf is pretty good out there. I'm going out of here to go surfing." That's exactly what happened. He split. Then Carl said, "I'll give it a pass." He tried it a couple times, but he didn't like the timbre of his voice. Then he asked me to sing it. I sang it a couple of times and that's what you heard. That's what you hear now.

Tell me about recording "Leaving This Town."

We record that one in Holland. I played bass. Ricky played drums and Carl played piano. It was just a nice ballad. I remember walking all over the studio and there were wires everywhere. You could trip yourself and break your neck. We were also close to the train tracks, so when the train came the whole studio shook, and you kinda had to stop for a couple of minutes and then get back to work again. It was a normal train from a town called Hilversum to Amsterdam, so it came fairly frequently. But we still got a lot done, but whenever we heard a rumble we had to stop.

I remember recording "Leaving This Town" really well. It's a ballad, and so we would tiptoe through it and then suddenly the train would come and screw up the take. We'd be like, "All right, man, we got another half-hour until the next train comes. Let's hit it now." It was funny as crap. But it got done eventually, and thank God they put "Sail On Sailor" on later, because I don't think all our efforts on Holland would have come out it they didn't put on something that would work on the radio.

Why did you leave the Beach Boys?

We were on a long tour, and I got into an altercation with one of the guy's brothers [Stan Love, brother of Mike Love]. I just said, "Forget it, I don't need this stuff." It had nothing to do with Brian or anything. But what happened was stupid and it pissed me off and I was just like, "Screw it. I don't need to play with people who use muscle when I'm just singing." Not long after that, Ricky went as well. 

I just went off my merry way. After that, I played with Paul Butterfield, Rick Danko . . . I spent time with the guys in the Band. I did sessions with Bonnie Raitt, David Johansen, and then I ran into the Stones. That was a lot of fun, too. 

When you get a job as a musician all you think about is, "I need to get another one." That's because there's a lot of us. It's pretty competitive, and it's not easy to be in favor. But so far, things have been working pretty good.

How did you wind up on this Brian Wilson tour?

It's a funny thing. All of a sudden, I get a call from Jeff Foskett. He's Brian's musical director. He said that Brian wanted to know if I wanted to come down and do some singing parts on his new album. This was totally out of the blue. Out of the blue! I hadn't been in a studio with Brian for 40 years. I said, "Sure!"

I went down to Ocean Way and was there for about an hour, layering on parts and stuff like that. When I was leaving, Jeff said, "Hey Brian, don't you want to ask something to Blondie?" Brian goes, "Oh yeah! Do you want to come sing 'Sail On Sailor' at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles?" I said, "Oh, sure. Just give me a buzz and we'll figure it out a little later." And then it turned into two shows and another three, and now I'm being brought in on eight gigs. It's nice to be a part of it. I wasn't expecting this when I was going to the studio. It's very nice that he asked me. He's a good guy.

The one funny thing that struck me after not seeing him for a while is that I was so used to seeing him with his two brothers. When I walked into the studio and shook his hand, I was looking at him and seeing the other two, one on each side. It was a little unnerving. It tripped me out.

Did you even attend any Beach Boys concerts in the past 40 years?

Just one. A friend took me to a show in New Jersey, even though I didn't want to go. It was a while ago. Carl was still alive, but he was going through chemo. I thought he looked pretty good, but someone told me he was wearing a wig. I went up there and sang "Sail On Sailor." That was the only times in 40 years I saw anybody, though I did see Brian at a Carl Wilson cancer benefit. That must have been 12 years ago. But I haven't been in the studio with anyone of that era until now.

It's got to be a time warp to be back on that stage with everybody.

Completely. The first gig I did was in Florida about a week and a half ago. It was odd, but I was relaxed. I was thinking, "I can't believe I'm hearing these voices again and singing these songs." It was strange. Every time Brian is on the piano I turn around and go, "Wow, this is really strange." It is strange, but good strange.

Are they talking about having you do anything besides "Sail On Sailor?"

I'm gonna try a few more in a couple of days. I might do "Wild Honey" or something like that. By the time we hit New York, we'll be in full swing.

Tell me about playing with the Band.

I only did a few gigs for them. It was obviously after Robbie Robertson. This was after Richard [Manuel] passed away, so it was a pretty low time for them. I knew them from when they lived in Malibu, the Last Waltz days and stuff. I think they just needed somebody to pick up a little slack. I played a little bit of drums, a little bit of guitar. It was nothing major, just support. They needed another voice there. They knew me well enough, and I think they trusted me in that strange time.

With the Band, it was amazing to have such good singers in one band. Good bands usually have a few, and the Beatles were doing that, too. But you have Richard, Levon [Helm] and Rick. It's kind of amazing to have very strong, big-voiced, deep singers. It's a lot of passion.

Why weren't you on the last Rolling Stones tour?

It's just like anything – they're downsizing. They want to keep the band small. That's the reason I was given. That's fine. It's their prerogative to do so. I've had a great time woking for them. But that's the reason I know, just downsizing in any way and cutting back the band. The band got smaller, and I think that opens things for other people, so the chapter ends and another one opens.

Have you ever thought about writing a book?

Funny you should ask. [Laughs] A friend of mine asked me that the other day, and yes, I have been. Just coming from South Africa and running into this, running into that . . . I've spent all my life in music. I'll get that going, and I'm finishing a couple of CDs of mine, so maybe next year I can put everything together and be more visible and get some product out.

Nice read.

I was at the Florida show and drove from Charlotte, NC just to see Blondie perform SOS. This late in the game I never thought I'd get a chance to see Blondie perform with any of the Beach Boys so I had to make it happen. His performance on SOS was definitely the highlight of the show for me. Ran into Blondie at the casino afterwards as well.  It was a brief encounter but he was a really cool guy.

I'm glad things seem to be going good for him and I'd love to read his book if he finishes it.

Fascinating interview, probably the only one with Blondie that I've ever seen!

That was great.

yeah!  Thanxx for posting this

Good interview. It still blows my mind that Carl didn't think his own voice was right for SOS.

Might have known there'd be a Love involved in Blondie & Ricky's departure. Didn't know that.
Mind you, Dennis's absentee attitude can't have helped. Think how much more they could have done in '74 if those 3 had still been fully functioning.

Regarding Blondie leaving The Beach Boys, he said in the interview that he "got into an altercation". What was the altercation about?

Quote from Stebbin's book:
"Blondie Chaplin had left...pushed out when he ran afoul of the groups buisness manager, Steve Love"

Steve Love called him the n-word after a show and a fight broke out.

Wow. The Loves are always keeping it classy.

I don't think it's fair to tar the other brothers for what one or another did. The brothers haven't been on speaking terms for years. It's also not clear who did what. Blondie now says Stan threatened to beat him up, but Stebbins said that Steve called Blondie the n word and "a fight broke out." It can't be both.

Sure it can. Steve said the word and Stan was ready to fight. Stan can be a nasty sob. I know that cause I played BB against him several times in the 70s. Dirtiest played I ever played against. But a very good one.

I tried to argue a while ago on the board that Blondie and Ricky weren't truly Beach Boys and were brought in only to make the band sound and look more contemporary. I was widely criticized for said opinion.

Well here's Blondie in my defense:

"You weren't a hired hand. They made you a full-time Beach Boy, right?

Well, you know, that's what it was called. It said "Beach Boys," but [drummer] Ricky Fataar and I didn't feel like we were fully there. It was full Beach Boys as far as title, but it wasn't really. I'm not saying that in a negative way. We were just very, very good session men that people happened to like. I guess you can call us Beach Boys, but we thought we were kind of brought in to give the band a harder and funkier edge, so I'll just put it that way. If that means being a Beach Boy, fine."

Show me where I said that...

And FYI Blondie has corrected the RS article...it now reads that he left the band after an altercation with Stephen Love ...the band's manager. I think the orig. reference to Stan was the RS writer's mistake.

Blondie can feel anyway he wants, you cannot. When the Beach Boys post the list of official Beach Boys, I see nine names listed that includes Blondie & Ricky.

They were official Beach Boys only to make the band look and sound cool to the early 70s record buying public. They also served the pragmatic need to provide songs during a time when their only prolific composer wasn't producing anything.


You can't argue with the historical fact that, for a time, they were recognized as "Beach Boys." I just think it's stupid to believe they were anything but hired hands considering the context of the group in the early 70s.

Whatever.  Believe what you like.  I go by the facts.   ::)

Didn't Blondie and Ricky leave just as the band was reverting to an oldies show?

More likely they "reverted" to the oldies show because they left

waiting...

You could argue that about Dave, Al & Bruce too, but it doesn't make them any less Beach Boys. Blondie may not felt like a Beach Boy, but he was one nonetheless.

I just think the idea of Blondie "reuniting" with Brian is a little silly. In the interview Blondie basically says that his interaction with Brian was limited to being in the studio a couple times with him. It wasn't Brian who brought BC and RF in, and he never toured with them. My guess is that to the extent that Blondie bonded musically or personally with anyone in the group at all, it was with Dennis, Carl, or Mike, not Brian. So the idea of them "reuniting" is sill to me.

On a tangentially related point, I would love it if Brian, Al, David, and Blondie forcefully took over the "Beach Boys" name. It seems to me that they're more the Beach Boys than M&B. And maybe that would force Mike and Bruce to reunite with them, which is what my angle is, not what BAD's angle would be.

Sorry, I appended two posts from two different posters, one after the other. One quoted from your book, the other (not quoting from the book) mention the "n" word. I'm not sure where the "n" word story was taken from.

I've always thought Steve claimed he took a higher road than either of his brothers in terms of how they treated band members. At least he has in his posts on a BB blog. He was accused of embezzlement or misappropriation of funds, yes, but not physical violence or being, in general, "mean" to band members, at least that I recall from reading various books.

Gaines' book was the one that mentioned that little altercation, right?

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find the high road to embezzlement.

You can say that Steve was only there because his brother was a Beach Boy. On the other hand, no one blames Carl for the fact that his brother offered drugs to his nieces.

I think when most people on this board argue that Blondie and Ricky were not real Beach Boys they are not looking at the 'official roster'.
They are just talking about it more like Blondie explained in that interview. That they themselves never even felt like they were real Beach Boys.

In my opinion, if they themselves never felt that they were truly part of the band that makes the argument against them being Beach Boys that much stronger.

I think it would be safe to say that they were "Beach Boys" in name, but possibly not in spirit. Blondie didn't feel he was, anyway.

;0
Let me just settle this for all of you. Brian Wilson is the only Beach Boy. The rest of the guys are hired hands.  :)